Kindred Souls
by mzmarie
Summary: Konoha's 1 knucklehead ninja is attracted to a girl who already has someone! Will he go beserk when he doesn't get who he wants? Rated M for strong language.
1. Prologue

I really like this story, so I hope you like it, too. Marie and Toby are my characters. Raze is a character of my friend's, and I don't own any Naruto characters. Please read and review!

Prologue

Marie stood at Naruto's bedside, relieved that the morphine the medical ninja gave him was going into effect. She stared at his bandaged body, thankful that he was still alive. 'Thank you, Naruto; you really saved me...'the 18 year old girl thought, looking at her own arm that was in a sling. Her eyes glanced over at the flowers and cards that were in their own corner of the room, all dedicated to the brave 16 year old boy with the kyuubi trapped inside of him. '...He was once hated, and I was the first to ever accept him..it was probably because I understood him in a sense, like we know the same pain...'she stroked the tufts of blonde hair that stuck out above the bandages on his forehead. "Why did this have to happen?"the brunette beauty asked aloud, feeling her eyes getting misty.

A drowsy groan was heard coming from the boy before he opened his blackened blue eyes, his pain being forgotten as he smiled boyishly at her. "Heheh; I got pretty banged up!"

Marie smiled softly, her hazel eyes sparkling with happiness. "Looks like it...thank you, Naruto."she kissed him on the cheek softly, worrying that his jaw might also be broken.

Naruto blushed, then his face turned serious. "Don't worry, I wouldn't have let that bastard hurt you more than you already were; if it wasn't for you, I probably wouldn't have been able to finish that psycho off...I just go afraid when I saw you laying on the ground like that and I just went crazy."

She adverted her eyes to the waxed linoleum floor, "I'm sorry that I made all this happen; if I would've just--"

"--It's over now; what happened, happened, and there's nothing you can do about it now."He was distracted by a male figure coming into the room. Marie turned to see who it was also.

"Are you ok, Naruto-kun?"Toby asked, walking on crutches, his left leg in a cast

"Yeah, I'm alright; I do have the Kyuubi inside me after all; I can heal faster than most people."he explained, not wanting to go back into a somber mood.

"Toby,"Marie said, limping towards the platinum blonde 17 year old,"did Raze come back yet?"Worry laced her words, along with her facial features.

Toby shook his head, and looked over at Naruto, who was in shock "W-Why?? Why didn't he come back by now?"the younger boy asked, getting more urgent.

"Shizune-neechan and tsunade-sama were talking and I overheard them; they said that the medical ninjas on site were murdered and Raze's body wasn't there..."

"Oh, shit,"Marie said, her breathing becoming more shallow from panic,"Do they know where he is?"

"I don't think so, but they're scouring the area."

"T-T-This is bad!! We need to find Raze!"She cried out, obviously panicking more


	2. Chapter 1

Please read and review and if you like this story, look at my profile and look at my other ones.

**Chapter 1**

So, in order to understand what went on there, you have to know what went on between me, Toby, Raze, and Naruto way before that. To start all of you off, I'm gonna tell it from the beginning--from when me and Naruto met. When he was truly hated by the public, but only accepted by me before he got into the ninja academy and met Iruka-Sensei. I was playing tag in the park with the other children, and Naruto decided to join in. Of course, the rest of them stopped playing, heeding the words thier parents told them. I was different; I had no parents to tell me poisoned lies about an innocent child. They died long before I could remember, and I was stuck in a foster home where nobody cared enough to even feed you regularly, so it was kinda like I was just living in the streets, except I had a roof over my had(putting that loosely). Someone told me a rumor that they died in the last Great War--the war that involved the Kyuubi which was sealed inside Naruto's body. I don't really know; I've never been one to believe rumors. And if Kyuubi really did kill my parents, that kid didn't; he was only two years younger than me; no way he could've killed my parents when I was 2 years old.

So when the rest of the kids ran away, I saw him about to cry, and I walked over to him "Don't worry about them; wanna play tag with me?"

He looked up at me like he didn't understand, but then smiled as he answered yes. After the game, he asked me what my name was.

"Marie; you're Naruto, am I right?"

"Yeah...how do you know?"

"People talk about you all the time; they tell me to stay away from you...but I don't care; you look nice"I flashed him a friendly smile when I said that, trying to get him not to notice the part when I said that everybody talks about him. It worked, seeing that he grinned back "You know, I don't have parents either.."

"You too??"He moved closer to me, in that kind of way a lost puppy clings to its master after just seeing them for a long time.

"Yeah...I'm kinda lonely sometimes, and I don't like where I live all that much.."I forced a smile, something I learned to do through all those hard times.

"Me too!! Do you wanna be my friend?"His eager eyes begged me pitifully, and I couldn't say no to a face like that

"Ok, what do you want to do first?"I asked

He grabbed me by the arm and yanked me all the way to his house. "I have a lot of toys we can play with!! C'mon, I can show you!"

From that day on, me and Naruto were the closest friends that anybody had ever seen. People looked at him in hate, and some even tried to yank me away from him, saying that he would hurt me, but I didn't listen. After a time, I could see that they were looking at me with teh same hate in their eyes that they looked at Naruto with, but I didn't care.


	3. Chapter 2

Please read and review and if you like this story, look at my profile and look at my other ones. And to set the record straight, I am not Marie.

**Chapter 2**

3 years later, when I was 10 and Naruto was 8, I graduated from the ninja academy with my present team, Raze and Toby. Nobody was there for me except Naruto, and he wasn't really welcome at the ceremony. After the ceremony, I went over to his usual spot, the swing hanging from that tree branch, where he watched the event from a distance.

I smiled happily at him. "I made it, Naruto-kun! Now, I wanna see you graduate, ok?"He scooted over to make a spot for me on the swing, and I gladly sat.

He groaned out of frustration. "But I feel like I won't ever get into Iruka-Sensei's class!! I barely know how to throw a kunai knife straight!"

I patted him on the back. "Is that any way for the future Hokage to be speaking?? I think not!" I truly believed in his dream of becoming the Hokage of Konoha; I had no doubt. "I can always help you out, you know that."

Naruto's frown turned into that trademark boyish smile. "You're right! I will be the next Hokage! Then I'll get the respect of everyone and they won't make fun of me or hate me anymore!!" He jumped from the swing and stood up dramatically, pointing a finger up towards the Hokage's office. "Look out, old man!! I'm here to take your spot!!"

I smacked him in the back of the head, making him fall to the ground almost instantly. "How many times have I told you not to refer to Sarutobi-Sama like that?! It's either Hokage-Sama, The Third, or Sarutobi-Sama!! Show some respect!"

He groaned as he rubbed his head (a few hours later, there was a huge knot). "Damn, Marie!! You and that unhuman strength!!"

"It's for your own good,"I assured Naurto, helping the pained young boy off the ground.

"Marie!!"Another young boy's voice called out. I turned to see Raze, at this time, 11, running in my direction. He was so thin, about Naruto's size, but he had this look in his eyes. It was like he worried a lot, but that probably came from because he was so shy. Raze loved to wear black, which I think he should've changed every now and then. The color of his hair was chesnut brown, and it kinda made him look more cute than he actually was. I'm not saying he's ugly, but I really didn't favor his looks. I kinda suck at describing, so I think I'll stop here.

"Hey, Raze. What's up?"I asked, helping Naruto keep his balance while he complained about how lightheaded he was and how bad his head hurt.

"Um..."He blushed, which he always did when he talked to me; in addition to being shy, he was insecure. "I...I just wanted to congratulate you!"He smiled, and that was one of the things that I thought made him look cute, along with his hair. But that smile faded a little when he noticed that Naruto was clinging to me. "Oh..am I interrupting something?"I noticed his voice turned a little colder.

"No, no, not at all!" I replied, deciding not to react to how quick his demeanor changed. "Is that all you want to say,Raze?"

"Uh...just about.."This time, it sounded like he was disappointed "Oh, and I can't wait to work on the team with you! Don't forget, training starts tomorrow!"With that, he ran of in the direction of his mother.

"Naruto? Can you stand up now?"I asked, ready to let him go.

"Yeah...I think so.."Naruto confirmed, letting me go and adjusting his goggles that had moved out of their place when I hit him.

"Let's go home, then..."I was scanning the crowd for Toby, my other team member, but I didn't find him. He always was the type to leave as soon as something was over.

"Wait!! Shouldn't we get some Ichiraku ramen first?! Ya know, to celebrate?!"He stood in front of me and waved his hands crazily to block my way until I agreed. There was one problem with that, though. We didn't have money, so we had to run off as soon as we finished our food.


	4. Chapter 3

Thanks for reading! Please remember to review!

Chapter 3

The next morning, I set out to meet our sensei way before Naruto was awake. Me and Toby met up with each other on the road while we were going to the training grounds.

"Do you know who our sensei is gonna be?"I asked, pulling out a chocolate bar as my breakfast.

"Nope,"Toby replied nonchalantly as he scratched his blonde hair, pulled back into a ponytail. "I really need to get this shit cut..." He was right. His hair was too long for my taste. But everywhere else, he was cute. Toby had some of the most intense blue eyes I have ever seen in my life. He was thin, but not too thin for a 9 year old. He always wore baggy clothes, something that most ninja don't wear. "I've been wondering,"He said

"Wondering what?"

"Why do you hang out with that Jinchuuriki?" That vile word always makes my body tense and my blood boil.

"Don't call Naruto-kun a Jinchuuriki!! It's demeaning!"

"It's what he is; he has the Kyuubi inside of him, don't he?"Toby looked at me with those sky blue eyes, not really caring about what I just said.

"Yeah...but still, he's a human being and he shouldn't be labeled as anything else!"My attempt to justify Naruto was going up in smoke because deep inside, I knew what Toby just said was true.

We were quiet until we reached the training grounds, which was just another part of the forest surrounding Konoha. The only difference was that there wasn't that many trees, and the grass was cut, and there was some tree stumps as targets.

Raze was waiting for us, and his face lit up when he laid eyes on my. "Hey! Ready for the training?"He asked, mainly talking to me, even though he didn't specify who he was talking to.

"Yeah, I guess.."Toby said, chewing on a candy cigarette, one of his favorite snacks.

"Yep!"I replied, noticing that I was just as enthusiastic as Naruto was. "Have you seen our sensei yet?"

Raze scratched his head, ruffling a bit of his chestnut brown hair. "Uh..not really...maybe today's not the day to train..ya know, since he's not here and all..."His voice got all timid when he realized that I was giving him a little attention.

"Well,"I stood up straight, poked out my slightly developing chest and pointed out into the distance. "If our sensei doesn't show up, I'll just train myself!! And I mean it!"

"Heh...we don't even know basic chakra control; how can you train yourself?"Toby asked, finishing his candy and about to pull out another one.

"Shuddup!"I shouted, now pointing at him "I'm tired of waiting!! SENSEI, COME OUT HERE!!"

Suddenly, a big puff of smoke came out of nowhere, and when it settled, we were looking at a middle-aged man with long silver hair and a goofy-looking outfit. "Behold, young ones!!! You are looking at one of the greatest ninja to ever live!! It is I, the handsome and brilliant, Jiraiya, the Mountain Toad Sage!"

Our sweat dropped at how corny he was.

"Are you our sensei?!"I asked, hot at how late he was

"Yes, I am!"He stood up proudly, and extremely wide grin on his face "I'm sure you've heard of me by now, am I correct?"

Our sweat dropped again.

"No,"Toby answered for all of us

"WHAAAT?? Are you telling me that you have NEVER heard of Jiraiya, one of the greatest novelists of all time?? What are kids learning in school these days??"His eyes were as big as baseballs and his mouth got big enough that you could fit three in there.

"Never,"Raze replied, now standing next to me

Jiraiya groaned exasperatingly "Well, I do write adult novels...kids have no business knowing about them.."

"Are you a writer or a ninja?!"I asked, pointing my index finger at him dramatically "If you're a novelist, we don't need ya!!"

"Shut the hell up!!"he responded "I couldn't expect you to possibly understand my greatness!!"

After two minutes of me and Jiraiya going back and forth, Toby finally stepped in "WHAT THE HECK ARE YOU ARGUING WITH A KID FOR?!"He put another candy cigarette in his mouth "Besides, shouldn't we be spending this time training? The chunin exams are coming up in a few months, after all."

"True, true,"Jiraiya agreed, forgetting about me "First up is the bell test,"He held up two small bells dangling from a string "Notice that there are only two bells. Therefore, only two of you can pass this mission. The mission is to get these two bells out of my possession and into yours"

"What will happen to the one who doesn't pass the test?"I asked, confident in my abilities.

"You'll be tied to one of those tree stumps until...dinnertime."

"But what if we just get finished at dinnertime?"Raze asked, always liking to explore all the possible outcomes of a situation.

"Then you'll just be tied there until the morning."Our teacher clarified nonchalantly as he jingled the bells around his fingers.

"Will you be there to watch us?"Raze asked again.

He laughed boisterously,"And miss out on getting in some more research?! No way!!"

"But what if something comes around and tries to eat us?!"I asked, now concerned if I don't claim a bell.

"Tough luck"Jiraiya stopped ringing the bells and grinned,"The mission starts...now"He disappeared in thin air, leaving us to search for him.

Around 4:00, we finally got two bells...well, at least..._they_ got two bells, and I was the one stuck on the stump for the rest of the night.

Before sensei left, we had a little talk. "I hear you hang around the child with the Kyuubi inside of him...is it true?"

"I'm friends with Naruto-kun."I replied coldly, hating it when people referred to him as "The child with the Kyuubi" or a "Jinchuuriki".

"I see that you're protective of him...have you told him yet?"His voice became quieter, as if he were telling a grave secret.

I lowered my eyes "No...why? I don't think he should know."

"But he should. If you don't tell him, he'll find out from somewhere else...but it's not your place to tell, I suppose...so forget I ever said anything." That's another thing I hate; how can I forget what someone said right after they told me?? I don't have Alzheimer's! "On a lighter note, I've noticed something about you."

"What?"Now I was a little pissed.

"You have a lot of potential, and you're a great Gennin--way better than either of your teammates...but what I don't get is why you hold back so much,"He placed a finger on his chin and looked at me for an answer.

"I-I don't know..."I was a little disappointed in myself. I knew full well why I held back so much. I wanted everyone else to feel like they were useful, and I didn't want to seem like an attention-crazed psycho.

Jiraiya sighed and stood up. "Listen...a great ninja needs to be at his or her greatest when faced with any mission--especiall a rookie ninja like yourself. When you grow in skill, that is when the time is right to hold back in missions that you feel don't require you to use all of your energy. Otherwise, you shouldn't be concerned about showing off in front of your squadmembers. Showing off might just be what saves them from being killed...remember that, ok?"

"Yes, Sensei!"

"Alright; I'll be back in the morning." That wide smile appeared on his face again "I've gotta do some research!"His voice changed to a miscievious tone and he laughed goofily.

"Uh...Jiraiya-Sensei...exactly what kind of research do you do?..."

He froze for a few seconds and scratched his head. "Uh...you do not need to know everything I do, do you?"Before I could answer, he already made his way out of the training grounds, leaving me there tied to a stump for the rest of the night.

"Psssst!!! Marie-Chan!!"A boy's voice whispered from behind me.

"Who's there?!"I asked, looking around quickly, but my vision was restricted because I couldn't move much.

"It's me, Naruto!!"He jumped out of the bushes, a bowl in his hands.

"Naruto-kun!"I exclaimed happily as I saw his face when he stood in front of me,"What are you doing here? How did you find me?"

Naruto chuckled and rubbed his nose,"I did a little sneaking around! Did you actually think I wouldn't be awake to see you leave for training?"

"I suppose not, I guess..."We both laughed.

"I brought some Ichiraku Ramen, seeing that you were gonna miss dinner. Do you want me to untie you from this--"He set down the bowl and looked around for the knot that tied me to the wood.

"--No, Naruto-kun! I have to stay here! It's part of the mission!"

Naruto pouted,"That's no fun! What kind of teacher puts their students through this crap?? And how are you gonna eat the ramen?!"

"Just feed it to me, I guess..."

"...Fine...but don't act like a baby and waste it anywhere!"He took the aluminum foil off the bowl, releasing the delicious-smelling steam into the air. My stomach growled for what seemed like an eternity. "Looks like it was a good thing that I brought you some food, huh?"Naruto laughed, embarrasing me a little.

"JUST FEED ME ALREADY, NARUTO-KUN!!"

"All right, alright!!"

And from that night on, I was officially part of Jiraiya-sensei's squad, and I quickly became his favorite. Me and Raze became a little closer; one could even say we were in puppy love. Jiraiya-sensei told us to tone it down a bit and that it wouldn't last very long, but he was soon proven wrong. Over time, Toby and Raze accepted Naruto, but not fully because he was still the "Kid with the Kyuubi".


End file.
